Frequently Asked Questions

In the articles below, you will find answers to the questions our clients tend to ask us most. If you cannot find the answer you were looking for, please contact us directly. All of our contact-details can be found at the bottom of this page.

Novoville Shared Repairs is a mobile app that helps you organise and implement a shared (or "common") repair within your tenement. That is, to implement maintenance or repair or an improvement to a common part of the tenement that involves all/subset of the owners in the block (or "tenement").

It is designed to accompany you all the way from first noticing a problem to having works carried out and paid for, in accordance with either the provisions contained in the relevant title deeds or by utilising the terms of the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004.

It will allow you to:
- invite fellow owners into a shared space dedicated to your building within the app
- understand what kind of issue you are facing and report it
- communicate will all owners
- conduct a vote to approve the proposed works
- compare contractor quotes and hire them
- pay your share into a secure shared account dedicated to repairs, maintenance and improvements

You can expect this app and its functionalities to be frequently updated with new content, new features, and new ways to assist you in keeping your tenement maintained (and your area looking good).
To sign up for Novoville Shared Repairs, you will first need to download the mobile app by tapping here (You would need to do this on your mobile device). Once the app is downloaded and installed on your mobile device, you can open it and sign up.
Novoville Shared Repairs is available to any person in Scotland, regardless of where you live. We have however partnered with the following councils throughout Scotland providing you the additional benefit of council-vetted traders in the following areas:

- Edinburgh
- Perth & Kinross
- East Ayrshire
- Dundee
- Glasgow
- Falkirk
- Aberdeen
- East Renfrewshire
We charge a small fee as a commission on jobs successfully carried out using the app. The fee is dynamic and changes based upon the amount of the repair.

To estimate what the commission would be on your repair, have a look at our pricing page.

The app is free to download, and free to use up to the point where a decision has been recorded, in the app, for the job.

The fee is all-inclusive: you don't pay extra to use the in-app digital payment account. You don't pay less for sourcing quotes yourself either.

If you start using the app, source some quotes (with or without the app), but then decide not to carry out the job, the app is not chargeable: we only charge in case of a positive decision in favour of the job.

For this fee you get the following:
- a step-by-step journey turning a complex process into a simple walkthrough
- a digital payment account inside the app, saving trips or calls to a bank
- a marketplace integrated with the local Trusted Trader scheme, but with the flexibility of using your own trader
- one source of truth for all, and a paper trail in case of problems
- a place for education through our Help section
- a dedicated support team to answer your questions
- hours saved
Currently, the Novoville app is only available on mobile devices (IOS & Android) and is not available on the web (or computers). We are planning on building a web version soon for desktop or laptop users.

Only if your computer is an Apple machine with either an M1 or M2 processor can you use your computer to run the mobile app.

To check if you have one of these processors in your Apple Machine, navigate to the top left of your screen and click on the apple icon. Now click on "About This Mac". Under the heading "Chip" you will either see "Apple M1" or "Apple M2".
Not everyone in the tenement might use a smartphone. Taking this into consideration, we have made it possible for you to involve everyone, regardless of whether they are able to use this app or not.

All owners must be given a fair chance of participating in the process. You must notify them of the steps you are taking, and record their vote.

The app contains the following letters to help you:
- notification of defects
- invitation to vote
- notice of scheme decision
- notice of payment (only available if you have opened a Modulr account in the app)

These can be found in the Repair Details section, and are automatically pre-filled with information about the repair in question.

Note: you should ideally be taking pictures in order to have evidence, if asked, that you did post these letters or slip them under their door. Alternatively, you can ask someone else from the stair to be with you when you do so.

How can non-smartphone users vote?

They need to tell one of the owners what their vote is. This person is then responsible for voting on their behalf, in the app. To vote on behalf of someone, just click on the "Record a Vote" button on the quote of the trader they would like to vote for. The app will ask you if you are voting for yourself or for somebody else.
This account, provided by Modulr Finance, an FCA-regulated financial services provider, is the online 'wallet' for your tenement. It is called an "operating account" in our T&Cs. Modulr is not a "bank" and the account is not a "bank account" (but for all intents and purposes, it functions as a community account from a high street bank). We usually refer the account as a "payment account".

The account is set up in the name of one of the proprietors, who acts on behalf of the tenement. This means that you are the owner of the account and the money within it (Novoville has no rights over it). Any user can create the operating account. This person becomes a “treasurer” for the tenement. They have control over outbound payments from the account to the chosen Trader.

There is no additional charge to the opening and maintenance of this account as the fee is built into the fee that Novoville charges. The account usually takes less than 24 hours to open and is then ready to use.

Modulr Finance is the same company that provides digital accounts of Revolut, the online bank. Modulr's FAQ can be found here.

Novoville is an FCA-registered “agent” of Modulr, as can be seen on the FCA’s website.

If you have any questions about the operation of your account within the app, you should contact us at srhelpdesk@novoville.com
The app is specifically designed for implementing maintenance or repairs or improvements to common parts defined by your title deeds, or the Tenement Management Scheme (often referred to as TMS) in the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004.

Repairs to such areas are the shared responsibility of all or some flats or commercial property owners within the relevant tenement, depending on the terms of your title deeds or as defined in the TMS.

If you also already have an appointed factor in your building, then you should be contacting them tot take the lead on Shared Repairs and not take up that burden yourself. You should still keep the app, however, as property factors can create an account and keep you in the loop through it. If you have an existing factor, tell them about the Novoville Shared Repairs App.

At the moment, this is not the app for you if you are looking to carry out any repairs or maintenance within or to your own exclusive property, such as a plumbing problem with your sink, or broken floorboards.
The app is organised so that sections appear as you progress through each step.

The first step is to organise your tenement by creating flats and inviting owners. The second step is to create a repair. After creating your repair, new sections will be available inside the "Repair" card to continue the process.

Make sure you read the content you are presented with, and access any help-text by clicking on the blue "i" button to the right of your screen.

The app will not surprise you: you will never pay money without explicit consent, a formal voting procedure, and many other safeguards. You will never agree to something you don't want to. You don't have to use the app if you don't want to.

Bear this in mind: it is an owner's responsibility to keep their property in good condition. This app is only designed to help you comply with the law, and save you time in the process.

If you would like to see the a step-by-step app manual, click here.
The Novoville Shared Repairs app is always available.

Our support hours are 08:00 - 16:00, Monday to Friday.
If you have identified an issue which is probably going to require a repair, you will need to check your and other owner's Title Deeds to see if there are any rules about how the costs should be shared, or what majority should be applied. This is often referred to as the "burdens" for the property.

First, though, make sure you are reasonably confident that the issue is located in an area which usually falls under a shared or common burden.

If indeed you suspect or know that the issue is in a common area, the Title Deeds may tell you more about
- who is concerned with this common repair. A shared chimney might only be the burden of 4 of the property owners. A shared roof could concern everybody.
- what the apportionment is for each person concerned (share of the burden)
- if a specific majority should be applied

Workable Deeds always take precedence over the Tenement (Scotland) Act, which otherwise defines common areas and acts as default law.

If the Title Deeds are unworkable or silent on the issue you are trying to solve, then the Tenement (Scotland) Act applies. In the majority of cases, it prescribes an equal share of the burden. The only exception is when one of the flats is significantly bigger than others, in which case the burden is proportional to the flat's square footage over the total square footage of the building.
The extent of any emergency works should be limited to the minimum work required to halt the emergency . A "scheme decision" should then be sought to be made for the rest of the work. For example, if there is a leak in the roof of a flat, the "emergency" element would be erecting tarpaulin on the roof over the affected area to stop the leak and prevent further damage. Following this, a vote should be held to obtain a "scheme decision" for the required work to repair the roof more comprehensively.

Any works that do not fall under the limited definition of emergency works require a Scheme Decision to be binding on all proprietors. If a proprietor instructs comprehensive works prior to obtaining a Scheme Decision, they are running the risk that they may not be entitled to payment from their fellow proprietors if they do not obtain a Scheme Decision before the work is completed.

In the event of an emergency we would suggest the following process:

1. Complete the repair and pay the trader

As mentioned above, in an emergency, there is no need to get the owners to vote before getting work done. The first step is to contact a trader to care out the repair. Please note that you will need to pay this trader and then recover the shares from all of the other owners.

2: Create the repair on the Novoville app and recover your money

Once you’ve been in contact with a trader and the work is set to take place, start by creating the repair report on the Novoville app. Once you’ve received the invoice from the trader, send this to the Novoville team ( srhelpdesk@novoville.com) and they will ensure that your invoice makes its way to the app for everyone to see. Follow the repair process as usual and once the repair reaches the payment stage, all owners will have been notified to pay their share.

As soon as all shares have been received, the full payment will then be refunded to the owner that made the payment for the repair.

For more information, please have a look at this article on our blog titled Emergency Repair on the Novoville Shared Repairs app
Novoville does not form part of any local government.

The City of Edinburgh Council selected Novoville as their partner in November 2019 through the CivTech programme in order to address the challenge of tenement maintenance. In 2020, they renewed their confidence in Novoville by agreeing to continue funding the development of the Novoville Shared Repairs app, which launched in April 2021.

Novoville has been designed in collaboration with the City of Edinburgh Council. The council supports Novoville’s work, but Novoville is not formally endorsed by the Council and you are free not to use the app without any prejudice to you.

The Council has a separate Shared Repairs Service, for information, which is free to access.
Read more by clicking here:
To find other owners you can use Registers of Scotland the Landlord Register and/or contact the council’s empty homes officer for help.

The app has a whole section dedicated to helping you find owners, with links to the right places, so you’re not on your own.
Yes you can.

To hire a surveyor, create a repair in the Novoville app and call it "Survey". Proceed to invite 2 or more surveyors that can provide you with a quote. The rest of the process is the same as any other repair or maintenance job in the app.

Surveyors are a regulated profession which provide consultancy and project management for housing-related issues. They can help you appraise your tenement, get a complete picture of its condition and manage a large common repair (such as a roof repair, for instance).

In conservation areas, we would recommend you consult with surveyors accredited in conservation work.

Getting a condition report from a surveyor (not to be confused with an in-depth survey) is often the first step in engaging Chartered Surveyors to maintain or repair your tenement.They can also be useful in setting up a maintenance plan going forward.

In many cases, they can help you get a repair done right. They charge a fee (often between 10% and 15%) to manage projects.
Yes, some councils do offer a missing share scheme.

Before diving into repairs reach out to your council's housing team to confirm if they offer a missing share scheme or something similar. If available, and you follow the correct process, you can apply for this scheme when some owners are unresponsive, unable or unwilling to pay their share. This allows you to proceed with your repairs, while the council works to recover the funds from non-responding proprietors. More often than not, the council getting in touch leads these owners to pay up.

In the first instance, however, you should be the one trying to contact all proprietors. The app helps you with this. To find out more, you can read this article on our blog.
What is it?

A property law reform brought into force on 28 November 2004.

What does it do?

It provides a structure for the management of tenements, including maintenance, when this is not provided for in the owner's "Title Deeds". It includes the "Tenement Management Scheme" (also referred to as TMS) as its main instrument.

Why do we need it?

Rules governing the maintenance and management of tenements have developed since the 17th Century (as part of Common law). They have helped to impose obligations on owners to adhere to a specific regime for management and repair for their tenement. So called "burdens" are drawn up to suit the particular circumstances of the tenement. The "burdens" are one of the sections of the Title Deeds.

However, not all title deeds are comprehensive and they do not always provide "burdens" to specify how the owners are to decide on matters of mutual interest (such as common repairs). This is why the Tenement Act has been designed.

Most tenements, particularly new tenements, will have a detailed system of management provided by the title deeds to the property. The TMS (as part of the Act) will only apply where there is a gap in the title deeds.

How do we use it?

The common law acts as a background, or "default" law. If title deeds make no provision on one matter, then the Act and its main instrument, the TMS, will apply on that one matter.

You can view the Act by clicking here
Your FCA-regulated tenement account provider, Modulr, holds 100% of your funds separately from Modulr’s own funds and in an account that is clearly identifiable as being for you. Just like your own bank account.

This means that any money you send to your Modulr account is held separately from Modulr’s money.

In the unlikely event that Modulr becomes insolvent, your funds are separate from the funds of Modulr and therefore the creditors of Modulr (other third parties that are owed money from Modulr) are not able to make a claim or have any effect on your funds.

You can read more about it by clicking here
We have designed this app so that you do things in the order most useful and efficient for all parties involved.

Some steps are prerequisite to others. For instance, you need to provide a report on the proposed common repair to the trader before you can get an accurate quote. If you require the Council’s assistance to release the identity of an owner, they require evidence of a quote that is an eligible common repair.

We've kept all of this in mind so that if you follow the path laid out, you will get to your destination!

Of course, if you hit a roadblock, you can contact srhelpdesk@novoville.com
You can of course proceed without this app. Under One Roof and the City of Edinburgh Council's website remains your best source of information.

They provide template forms and letters to engage with owners. Then, you will have to select contractors from Google, or a trusted person, and create a bank account with a bank or building society to pay into.

Many have done it, but it is definitely more of a hassle, and a lengthier process. So much so, in fact, that crucial repairs often don’t get done. That’s why we’re here.
Collecting funds upfront in the Novoville app's payment account offers several key benefits, making it a more reliable and efficient method for managing shared repairs in Scotland:

- Security for Traders: By securing the payment before starting, traders can work with the confidence that they will be paid on time. This removes any worries about payment delays or defaults.

- Fairness Among Owners: With everyone contributing their share in advance, there's no risk of someone not paying their part later. This ensures fairness and encourages a sense of shared responsibility.

- Smoother Repair Process: With the financial side sorted beforehand, repairs can start without delay, focusing solely on the quality of work rather than payment issues.

- Refund Assurance: If, for any reason, the repair doesn't happen, owners can easily get their money back. This adds a layer of financial security for all involved.

- Building Trust: This approach builds trust between owners and traders, leading to better cooperation and a more positive experience during the repair process.

Overall, paying in advance through the Novoville Shared Repairs app streamlines the process, offers security, and ensures fairness, making it a much preferred method for handling shared repairs.